The Latest

Help Rolando support refugees this holiday season

Dec 13, 2016

As we prepare to close out 2016, Rolando Villazón would like to enter 2017 with hope, togetherness, and strength. And since he believes that if we all unite with small gestures, together we can give hope to those who need it the most, he wants your help.

How You Can HelpTo support his fundraising USA for UNHCR, Rolando is offering special gifts for donors who contribute before Christmas, 2016. These gifts can be used for the holiday season with the knowledge that the funds are in turn going to benefit those who need it most. Select your gift below and click here to donate.

$25/€25
Donate $25 (approx. €25) and you will receive a personalized e-card from Rolando and a thank you on his social media channels.
Additionally, $25/€25 could provide a refugee family with winter clothes in Syria.

$50/€50
Donate $50 (approx €50) and will receive the code to download an exclusive Rolando cartoon designed especially for this cause. The image can then be used as a holiday card design when you upload and purchase via Shutterfly.com (printing and shipping not included).
Additionally, you could provide high thermal fleece blankets to keep a family warm during the bitter winter months.

$100/€90
Donate $100 (approx €90) and you will receive a signed copy of Rolando’s album Treasures of Bel Canto,courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon.
Additionally, you could provide a gas heater to keep hundreds of refugees warm in a reception center during winter in Europe.

$250/€230
Donate $250 (approx €230) and you will receive the code to download a limited edition print of an exclusive Rolando cartoon designed especially for this cause. The image will be sized for an A3 print. (Printing and shipping not included.)
Additionally, you can help register 10 Syrians who have fled for their lives as refugees, helping to protect their rights and access the right support in Turkey.

$500/€470
Donate $500 (approx €470) and Rolando will record your outgoing voicemail message, delivered to you as an MP3 with instructions for uploading it to your phone.
Additionally, you could help to establish and train a child protection committee of 300 kids, teaching them how to keep themselves and their friends safe in the community in Africa.

$1,000/€940
Donate $1,000 (approx €940) and Rolando will record a video holiday e-card on your behalf that can then be sent out to friends and family for the holiday season.
Additionally, it costs just over $1,000 to help care for a frightened Syrian child who has arrived in Lebanon having lost their parents and family when fleeing. UNHCR provides care and support and places them with a foster family until their parents can be traced.

$2,500/€2,300
Donate $2,500 (approx €2,300) and Rolando will create and sign an original “Rolandito” artwork for you,suitable for framing (sized for an A2 frame). (Limit 5)
Additionally, you could provide a solar generator to help with communications during the aid operation.

Having arrived in Europe as a young Mexican singer without a residency permit, Rolando went from one engagement to the next, never knowing how long he would be able to stay on the continent. He remembers waiting in long queues to receive documents from public authorities, has had unpleasant encounters with the police, and more than once feared that his dream of a career in Europe would end abruptly. He was only able to overcome the many bureaucratic hurdles because he met people, strangers, who helped him when needed.You do not need to be a future famous opera singer in order to experience the support and kindness of your fellow human beings. It can never be the fear of the other and unknown that determines our thoughts and actions. On the contrary, today more than ever, empathy must dictate how we treat each other, from one human being to the other.With this in mind, and to support relief efforts in the regions that need it most, Rolando is looking to raise $5,000 to support USA for the UNHCR, which helps and protects refugees and people displaced by violence, conflict and persecution. Supporting UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – and its partners, provides lifesaving essentials including shelter, water, food, safety and protection. Around the world, they help refugees survive, recover and build a better future; giving refugees the hope they deserve, restoring their dignity and helping them rebuild their lives.“I am deeply saddened by the ongoing refugee crisis. Millions of people are displaced because of war, persecution, and poverty,” says Rolando. “I wish to honor those refugees who lost their lives in the struggle to reach Europe, and to those who are still fighting, desperately and yet full of hope, for a better life for themselves and their families.“I believe that if we all unite with small gestures, together we can give hope to those who need it most.”